KRLemmons African American History

November 17 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 17 *

1842 – Fugitive slave George Latimer, is captured in Boston.
His capture leads to the first of the fugitive slave
cases which strain relationships between the North and
South. Boston abolitionists will raise money to purchase
Latimer from his slave owner.

1911 – Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is founded on the campus of
Howard University.

1945 – Elvin Hayes, NBA star and Basketball Hall of Famer – “The
Big E” (San Diego, Houston Rockets, Baltimore Bullets;
5th on list of most games played in ABA/NBA; University
of Houston, All America in 1967 and 1968), is born.

1956 – Fullback Jim Brown of Syracuse University scores 43 pts
against Colgate, establishing a NCAA record.

1967 – Ronnie DeVoe, rhythm and blues singer (New Edition; Bell
Biv DeVoe), is born.

1978 – Two FBI agents testify before the House Select Committee
on Assassinations that the bureau’s long-term
surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was based
solely on J. Edgar Hoover’s “hatred of the civil rights
leader” and not on the civil rights leader’s alleged
communist influences or linkages with radical groups.

1980 – Howard University’s WHMM-TV starts broadcasting. It is
the first African American-owned public-broadcasting
television station.

1990 – Itabari Njeri receives the American Book Award for
Outstanding Contribution in American Literature for her
book, “Every Good-bye Ain’t Gone.” Also honored is poet
Sonia Sanchez, who receives a lifetime achievement award.

1998 – Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) is elected as
chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus. He is the
first Southerner to head the group, since it was founded
in 1971. He had been first elected to Congress in 1992,
the first African American to represent South Carolina
since Reconstruction.

1998 – Esther Rolle, the Emmy Award-winning actress, who won
acclaim on the hit CBS sitcom “Good Times” as well as on
stage and in the movies, joins the ancestors at her home
in Los Angeles, at the age of 78.

2006 – Ruth Brown, the gutsy Rhythm and Blues singer whose career
extended to acting and crusading for musicians’ rights,
joins the ancestors in Las Vegas at the age of 78
succumbing to complications of a heart attack and stroke
following surgery.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

November 11 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 11 *

1831 – Nat Turner is executed for organizing and leading the
armed slave insurrection in Jerusalem, Southampton
County, Virginia. One of our greatest freedom fighters
joins the ancestors.

1890 – D. McCree is granted a patent for the portable fire
escape.

1895 – Bechuanaland becomes part of the Cape Colony in Africa.

1915 – Claude Clark, Sr. is born near Rockingham, Georgia. He
will study at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the
Barnes Foundation, and the University of California,
Berkeley, and become a renowned artist whose studies of
urban life and social realism will be exhibited widely,
including the New York World’s Fair of 1939, the
Sorbonne, the Oakland Museum, the Museum of African
American Art in Los Angeles and in the major group
exhibits Hidden Heritage: Afro-American Art 1800-1950
and Two Centuries of Black American Art.

1918 – The Armistice is signed, ending World War I. Official
records listed 370,000 African American soldiers and
1400 African American commissioned officers. A little
more than half of of these soldiers served in the
European Theater. Three African American regiments —
the 369th, 371st, and 372nd — received the Croix de
Guerre for valor. The 369th was the first American
unit to reach the Rhine river (which separates France
from Germany). The first American soldiers to be
decorated for bravery in France were Henry Johnson and
Needham Roberts of the 369th Infantry Regiment.

1925 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to James Weldon
Johnson, former U.S. consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua
and NAACP executive secretary, for his work as an
author, diplomat and leader.

1928 – Ernestine Anderson is born in Houston, Texas. Her
introduction to jazz singing will begin at age 12 at
the Eldorado Ballroom in Houston. She will perform
with Russell Jaquet, Johnny Otis, and Lionel Hampton
and be known for her warm, blues-influenced vocals.

1929 – LaVern Baker is born in Chicago, Illinois. She will
become a rhythm & blues vocalist. She will be known
for her recordings of “Tweedly Dee”, “I Cried a Tear”,
and “Jim Dandy.”

1946 – Corrine Brown is born in Jacksonville, Florida. She will
receive a bachelor’s degree in 1969 and a master’s
degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University. She will
also receive an education specialist degree from the
University of Florida in 1974 and an honorary doctorate
in law from Edward Waters College. She will be a
college professor, a guidance counselor, and owner of a
travel agency before entering politics. In 1982 she will
be elected to the Florida House of Representatives,
where she will serve for ten years. In 1992 she will be
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from
Florida’s Third Congressional District.

1950 – Otis Armstrong is born. He will become a NFL runningback
and the AFC’s leading rusher in 1974 with the Denver
Broncos.

1965 – Prime Minister Ian D. Smith of Rhodesia proclaims
independence from Great Britain.

1968 – Ronnie Devoe is born. He will become a singer with the
groups “New Edition” and “Bell, Biv, and Devoe.”

1972 – Carl T. Rowan, journalist, becomes the first African
American elected to the ‘Gridiron Club.’

1975 – Angola gains independence from Portugal after 500 years
of colonial rule. Angola, in southeastern Africa, had
been waging guerrilla warfare against Portuguese rule
since 1961. In 1974, back in Portugal, a group of young
military officers overthrew the government. The new
government quickly granted independence to Portugal’s
colonies. Thus, on November 11, 1975 Angola officially
became an independent republic.

1979 – The Bethune Museum and Archives is established in
Washington, DC. The goal of the museum, which is
housed in the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, is to
serve as a depository and center for African American
women’s history.

1984 – Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. dies of a heart attack
in Atlanta, Georgia. Better known as “Daddy King,” he
was the father of famed civil rights leader Martin
Luther King, Jr. and was himself, an early civil rights
leader. The elder King was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist
Church in Atlanta, the center for much of his son’s
civil rights activity.

1985 – The city of Yonkers, New York is found guilty of
segregating in schools & housing.

1989 – The Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery,
Alabama.

1995 – The European Union’s 15 member states decide to pull
their envoys out of Lagos to show their anger at
Nigeria’s execution of human rights leaders.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

November 17 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 17 *

1842 – Fugitive slave George Latimer, is captured in Boston.
His capture leads to the first of the fugitive slave
cases which strain relationships between the North and
South. Boston abolitionists will raise money to purchase
Latimer from his slave owner.

1911 – Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is founded on the campus of
Howard University.

1945 – Elvin Hayes, NBA star and Basketball Hall of Famer – “The
Big E” (San Diego, Houston Rockets, Baltimore Bullets;
5th on list of most games played in ABA/NBA; University
of Houston, All America in 1967 and 1968), is born.

1956 – Fullback Jim Brown of Syracuse University scores 43 pts
against Colgate, establishing a NCAA record.

1967 – Ronnie DeVoe, rhythm and blues singer (New Edition; Bell
Biv DeVoe), is born.

1978 – Two FBI agents testify before the House Select Committee
on Assassinations that the bureau’s long-term
surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was based
solely on J. Edgar Hoover’s “hatred of the civil rights
leader” and not on the civil rights leader’s alleged
communist influences or linkages with radical groups.

1980 – Howard University’s WHMM-TV starts broadcasting. It is
the first African American-owned public-broadcasting
television station.

1990 – Itabari Njeri receives the American Book Award for
Outstanding Contribution in American Literature for her
book, “Every Good-bye Ain’t Gone.” Also honored is poet
Sonia Sanchez, who receives a lifetime achievement award.

1998 – Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) is elected as
chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus. He is the
first Southerner to head the group, since it was founded
in 1971. He had been first elected to Congress in 1992,
the first African American to represent South Carolina
since Reconstruction.

1998 – Esther Rolle, the Emmy Award-winning actress, who won
acclaim on the hit CBS sitcom “Good Times” as well as on
stage and in the movies, joins the ancestors at her home
in Los Angeles, at the age of 78.

2006 – Ruth Brown, the gutsy Rhythm and Blues singer whose career
extended to acting and crusading for musicians’ rights,
joins the ancestors in Las Vegas at the age of 78
succumbing to complications of a heart attack and stroke
following surgery.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

November 11 African American Historical Events

* Today in Black History – November 11 *

1831 – Nat Turner is executed for organizing and leading the
armed slave insurrection in Jerusalem, Southampton
County, Virginia. One of our greatest freedom fighters
joins the ancestors.

1890 – D. McCree is granted a patent for the portable fire
escape.

1895 – Bechuanaland becomes part of the Cape Colony in Africa.

1915 – Claude Clark, Sr. is born near Rockingham, Georgia. He
will study at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the
Barnes Foundation, and the University of California,
Berkeley, and become a renowned artist whose studies of
urban life and social realism will be exhibited widely,
including the New York World’s Fair of 1939, the
Sorbonne, the Oakland Museum, the Museum of African
American Art in Los Angeles and in the major group
exhibits Hidden Heritage: Afro-American Art 1800-1950
and Two Centuries of Black American Art.

1918 – The Armistice is signed, ending World War I. Official
records listed 370,000 African American soldiers and
1400 African American commissioned officers. A little
more than half of of these soldiers served in the
European Theater. Three African American regiments —
the 369th, 371st, and 372nd — received the Croix de
Guerre for valor. The 369th was the first American
unit to reach the Rhine river (which separates France
from Germany). The first American soldiers to be
decorated for bravery in France were Henry Johnson and
Needham Roberts of the 369th Infantry Regiment.

1925 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to James Weldon
Johnson, former U.S. consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua
and NAACP executive secretary, for his work as an
author, diplomat and leader.

1928 – Ernestine Anderson is born in Houston, Texas. Her
introduction to jazz singing will begin at age 12 at
the Eldorado Ballroom in Houston. She will perform
with Russell Jaquet, Johnny Otis, and Lionel Hampton
and be known for her warm, blues-influenced vocals.

1929 – LaVern Baker is born in Chicago, Illinois. She will
become a rhythm & blues vocalist. She will be known
for her recordings of “Tweedly Dee”, “I Cried a Tear”,
and “Jim Dandy.”

1946 – Corrine Brown is born in Jacksonville, Florida. She will
receive a bachelor’s degree in 1969 and a master’s
degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University. She will
also receive an education specialist degree from the
University of Florida in 1974 and an honorary doctorate
in law from Edward Waters College. She will be a
college professor, a guidance counselor, and owner of a
travel agency before entering politics. In 1982 she will
be elected to the Florida House of Representatives,
where she will serve for ten years. In 1992 she will be
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from
Florida’s Third Congressional District.

1950 – Otis Armstrong is born. He will become a NFL runningback
and the AFC’s leading rusher in 1974 with the Denver
Broncos.

1965 – Prime Minister Ian D. Smith of Rhodesia proclaims
independence from Great Britain.

1968 – Ronnie Devoe is born. He will become a singer with the
groups “New Edition” and “Bell, Biv, and Devoe.”

1972 – Carl T. Rowan, journalist, becomes the first African
American elected to the ‘Gridiron Club.’

1975 – Angola gains independence from Portugal after 500 years
of colonial rule. Angola, in southeastern Africa, had
been waging guerrilla warfare against Portuguese rule
since 1961. In 1974, back in Portugal, a group of young
military officers overthrew the government. The new
government quickly granted independence to Portugal’s
colonies. Thus, on November 11, 1975 Angola officially
became an independent republic.

1979 – The Bethune Museum and Archives is established in
Washington, DC. The goal of the museum, which is
housed in the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, is to
serve as a depository and center for African American
women’s history.

1984 – Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. dies of a heart attack
in Atlanta, Georgia. Better known as “Daddy King,” he
was the father of famed civil rights leader Martin
Luther King, Jr. and was himself, an early civil rights
leader. The elder King was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist
Church in Atlanta, the center for much of his son’s
civil rights activity.

1985 – The city of Yonkers, New York is found guilty of
segregating in schools & housing.

1989 – The Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery,
Alabama.

1995 – The European Union’s 15 member states decide to pull
their envoys out of Lagos to show their anger at
Nigeria’s execution of human rights leaders.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.

KRLemmons African American History

November 17 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History - November 17            *

1842 - Fugitive slave George Latimer, is captured in Boston.  
	His capture leads to the first of the fugitive slave 
	cases which strain relationships between the North and 
	South. Boston abolitionists will raise money to purchase 
	Latimer from his slave owner.

1911 - Omega Psi Phi Fraternity is founded on the campus of 
	Howard University. 

1945 - Elvin Hayes, NBA star and Basketball Hall of Famer - "The
	Big E" (San Diego, Houston Rockets, Baltimore Bullets; 
	5th on list of most games played in ABA/NBA; University 
	of Houston, All America in 1967 and 1968), is born.

1956 - Fullback Jim Brown of Syracuse University scores 43 pts 
	against Colgate, establishing a NCAA record.

1967 - Ronnie DeVoe, rhythm and blues singer (New Edition; Bell 
	Biv DeVoe), is born.

1978 - Two FBI agents testify before the House Select Committee 
	on Assassinations that the bureau's long-term 
	surveillance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was based 
	solely on J. Edgar Hoover's "hatred of the civil rights 
	leader" and not on the civil rights leader's alleged 
	communist influences or linkages with radical groups. 

1980 - Howard University's WHMM-TV starts broadcasting.  It is 
	the first African American-owned public-broadcasting 
	television station. 

1990 - Itabari Njeri receives the American Book Award for 
	Outstanding Contribution in American Literature for her 
	book, "Every Good-bye Ain't Gone."  Also honored is poet
	Sonia Sanchez, who receives a lifetime achievement award.

1998 - Representative James Clyburn (D-SC) is elected as 
	chairperson of the Congressional Black Caucus.  He is the 
	first Southerner to head the group, since it was founded 
	in 1971. He had been first elected to Congress in 1992, 
	the first African American to represent South Carolina 
	since Reconstruction.

1998 - Esther Rolle, the Emmy Award-winning actress, who won 
	acclaim on the hit CBS sitcom "Good Times" as well as on 
	stage and in the movies, joins the ancestors at her home 
	in Los Angeles, at the age of 78.

2006 - Ruth Brown, the gutsy Rhythm and Blues singer whose career 
	extended to acting and crusading for musicians’ rights, 
	joins the ancestors in Las Vegas at the age of 78 
	succumbing to complications of a heart attack and stroke
	following surgery. 

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle archives and is edited by Rene' A. Perry.
KRLemmons African American History

November 11 African American Historical Events

Today in Black History – November 11           *

1831 – Nat Turner is executed for organizing and leading the
armed slave insurrection in Jerusalem, Southampton
County, Virginia. One of our greatest freedom fighters
joins the ancestors.

1890 – D. McCree is granted a patent for the portable fire
escape.

1895 – Bechuanaland becomes part of the Cape Colony in Africa.

1915 – Claude Clark, Sr. is born near Rockingham, Georgia.  He
will study at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the
Barnes Foundation, and the University of California,
Berkeley, and become a renowned artist whose studies of
urban life and social realism will be exhibited widely,
including the New York World’s Fair of 1939, the
Sorbonne, the Oakland Museum, the Museum of African
American Art in Los Angeles and in the major group
exhibits Hidden Heritage: Afro-American Art 1800-1950
and Two Centuries of Black American Art.

1918 – The Armistice is signed, ending World War I.  Official
records listed 370,000 African American soldiers and
1400 African American commissioned officers.  A little
more than half of of these soldiers served in the
European Theater.  Three African American regiments —
the 369th, 371st, and 372nd — received the Croix de
Guerre for valor.  The 369th was the first American
unit to reach the Rhine river (which separates France
from Germany).  The first American soldiers to be
decorated for bravery in France were Henry Johnson and
Needham Roberts of the 369th Infantry Regiment.

1925 – The NAACP’s Spingarn Medal is awarded to James Weldon
Johnson, former U.S. consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua
and NAACP executive secretary, for his work as an
author, diplomat and leader.

1928 – Ernestine Anderson is born in Houston, Texas.  Her
introduction to jazz singing will begin at age 12 at
the Eldorado Ballroom in Houston.  She will perform
with Russell Jaquet, Johnny Otis, and Lionel Hampton
and be known for her warm, blues-influenced vocals.

1929 – LaVern Baker is born in Chicago, Illinois.  She will
become a rhythm & blues vocalist.  She will be known
for her recordings of “Tweedly Dee”, “I Cried a Tear”,
and “Jim Dandy.”

1946 – Corrine Brown is born in Jacksonville, Florida. She will
receive a bachelor’s degree in 1969 and a master’s
degree in 1971 from Florida A&M University. She will
also receive an education specialist degree from the
University of Florida in 1974 and an honorary doctorate
in law from Edward Waters College. She will be a
college professor, a guidance counselor, and owner of a
travel agency before entering politics. In 1982 she will
be elected to the Florida House of Representatives,
where she will serve for ten years. In 1992 she will be
elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from
Florida’s Third Congressional District.

1950 – Otis Armstrong is born.  He will become a NFL runningback
and the AFC’s leading rusher in 1974 with the Denver
Broncos.

1965 – Prime Minister Ian D. Smith of Rhodesia proclaims
independence from Great Britain.

1968 – Ronnie Devoe is born.  He will become a singer with the
groups “New Edition” and “Bell, Biv, and Devoe.”

1972 – Carl T. Rowan, journalist, becomes the first African
American elected to the ‘Gridiron Club.’

1975 – Angola gains independence from Portugal after 500 years
of colonial rule.  Angola, in southeastern Africa, had
been waging guerrilla warfare against Portuguese rule
since 1961. In 1974, back in Portugal, a group of young
military officers overthrew the government.  The new
government quickly granted independence to Portugal’s
colonies. Thus, on November 11, 1975 Angola officially
became an independent republic.

1979 – The Bethune Museum and Archives is established in
Washington, DC.  The goal of the museum, which is
housed in the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House, is to
serve as a depository and center for African American
women’s history.

1984 – Reverend Martin Luther King, Sr. dies of a heart attack
in Atlanta, Georgia.  Better known as “Daddy King,” he
was the father of famed civil rights leader Martin
Luther King, Jr. and was himself, an early civil rights
leader.  The elder King was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist
Church in Atlanta, the center for much of his son’s
civil rights activity.

1985 – The city of Yonkers, New York is found guilty of
segregating in schools & housing.

1989 – The Civil Rights Memorial is dedicated in Montgomery,
Alabama.

1995 – The European Union’s 15 member states decide to pull
their envoys out of Lagos to show their anger at
Nigeria’s execution of human rights leaders.

Information retrieved from the Munirah Chronicle and is edited by Rene’ A. Perry.